This morning the rain had finally stopped. We walked over to the Mezquita (former mosque turned into a church in the 16th century). We did not have time to go inside but walked around the courtyard and had an upclose look at the bell tower. We then walked across the Roman bridge which still sits on its 1st century foundation. There is a nice triumphal arch at the end of the bridge as well as an 18th century plague monument. Next, we had a 3.5 hour drive to Madrid. Lots of winding roads and high speed limits; Sandy enjoyed the drive... Diana not so much. We had lunch in Madrid, tapas at Taberna Origen. They were delicious, we had a variety of different tapas and they were great. Next, we headed over to the Royal Palace. ... read more

We started off this day at a leisurely pause for a change. We walked for a mile to the highest rated churro place we could find nearby. What a great breakfast! They were fluffier than Barcelona's and instead of being served with sugar they came with a cup of chocolate dipping sauce; like really thick hot chocolate. Our touring started off with a little luck, we purchased a Sevilla card which got us in to most of the attractions we were interested in; we were also able to skip the long lines for the Real Alcazar de Sevilla and Sevilla's cathedral (Santa Maria de la Sede) by joining a guided tour. It was very interesting to see the mix of Arabic architecture with Renaissance and baroque styles. The cathedral is the largest in Europe and has ... read more

This morning we went to Pileta Caves just a 30 minute drive outside of Ronda, it was a road with lots of curves and beautiful scenery. The first tour was suppose to leave at 10:00 and we arrived right at 10:00 to be informed that we had to wait for at least 25 people to arrive or 11:30 whichever came first. 11:30 it was and we had a group of 16 that went on the tour. We had a very knowledgeable guide and went in with 1 small LED latern for every 2 people. The caves were very impressive with huge stalactites and stalagmites, but the big attraction was the cave paintings which were tens of thousands of years old from the Neolithic period and are some of the oldest cave paintings that have been discovered. ... read more

Granada is the home to the most visited attraction in Spain, the Alhambra. Basically it is a site that had several small military fortifications until the 12th century when it became a very ornate Moorish palace. 100 years or so after the palace was built, the Moorish lost their 7 century rule over the region. Then step in King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (think Columbus) and the christianification began. Fast forward to present time when they have about 7000 tour tickets available per day, 6800 of which are typically spoken for 3 months in advance. As of last night, we didn't have tickets. At the advice of several internet blogs, we woke up at 5:30 and got in line by 5:45 to try our hand at winning 2 of the few remaining tickets. All of that ... read more

Today we headed to the Barcelona cathedral, it was beautiful. There were many small chapels surrounding the large sanctuary. There was the sarcophagus of its patron Saint Euelia, she was a 13-year-old girl who was tortured and crucified on an X shaped cross for her beliefs. After this we went to the Picasso museum. It was interesting, but if we come back to Barcelona again it will be something I don't have to go back and see again. We then went to Mercado de La boqueeria, a market with tons of fresh fruits, vegetables, meets, and seafood. We tried several different things from different vendors for lunch. Next, walked down to Placa Espanya. Here we caught a train that took us to Montserrat. This is a monastery built into the side of a mountain near the ... read more